Ugly Secrets
by deadbutreadmystuffifyouwant
Summary: Ever since "The Accident", Fang rarley smiles and never laughs. And now, he's getting even farther away from everyone. Even though Max has her own ugly secret, can she help?  Fax, Eggy, Horseback riding. All human, no wings.
1. Chappie 1

Chappie 1

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

3POV

Fang heard a familiar whinny down the row of stalls. A small smile flashed across his face before it resumed its usual stony, expressionless profile as a dappled gray head poked out to meet him. He stroked the horse's soft head and led her to the crossties. There he tied her, got out some brushes, and began working on a large patch of dried mud on her neck. Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out and scanned the screen. There were a group of black pixels splayed across the screen to create the words "Home. Now!" Fang sighed and put the horse back in her stall. As the door rattled shut, something fell off the stall door. Fang bent down and picked up a wooden sign engraved with the name "Shady" He put the sign back on the stall door and reluctantly left. He walked the two blocks to his house and opened the door to a very upset looking lady.

"Fang!" she said, a stern expression on her face. "Where were you? I told you we were inviting the new neighbors over to dinner!"

Fang didn't respond.

"Were you at the barn again?"

Fang brushed past her and headed towards the stairs.

"Fang, you're spending too much time there. You blew off dinner with your father last night and you know he's hardly ever home early enough to eat with us! And I don't know what you find to do there all this time."

Fang walked up the steps without a glance back. He made his way into his room and collapsed onto his black bed. He didn't care anymore. No one understood, and no one ever would.


	2. Chappie 2

**Hallo there. This is my first fanfiction that is a part of a series, but I have written oneshots before. Well, two. And one was a songfiction. I know it sounds all cliché with Max being new to town and Fang being her new neighbor and then they're best friends and the fall in love, but I promise it's not. It shall be more exciting with lots of plot twists. I am typing this while on a plane to Seattle, and from Seattle I shall be going on an Alaskan cruise! *is extremely happy* Anyways, I have done one thing. I kidnapped Fang. I know, I know. Very unoriginal. But I couldn't resist.**

**Fang: Yeah, couldn't resist my charm and good looks**

**Oh, shut it Fang. You're my internet slave, so go do something useful! Like, make me a s'more!**

**Fang: Fine.**

**Yay! *munches on s'more* anyways, this is Starry Eye, signing off!**

**-Starry Eye**

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><p>Chappie 2<p>

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters.)

"No." I said flatly, staring at the shimmery piece of fabric dangling in front of me.

"Please?" said the reason a ugly thing that called itself a skirt was dangling in front of my nose. Also known as my sister.

"No! I, Maximum Ride, do not wear skirts. Therefore, I, Maximum Ride, shall not wear a skirt as a part of the outfit I am going to wear that will make the first impression on our new neighbors! Or anyone else, for that matter!"

"I think you just like saying your name" Ella replied, scoffing at my attempt to make my speech sound important.

"If I wear a skirt to make my first impression on people, they won't know me! So I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt!"

"Sure. Just don't wear something that smells like a barn." She replied. I can't help it if the clothes I wear to the barn end up smelling like horses and hay. I don't mind the smell, but most other people do.

"Shut up Ells."

We just moved to town and our new neighbors had invited us over to dinner. Mom had said they had a boy who was in the same grade as me, which would be tenth. Ella's a freshman.

I went to my room and entered my closet. I dug around through the half unpacked mess and found my favorite jeans. They were blood red skinny jeans with tears in the knees. The jeans didn't actually come with tears in them, but everyone's jeans today are torn, so why not keep them. I pulled out a black tee shirt that had a galloping horse on it with the words "Run wild" written across the top.

As I headed for the bathroom, I looked around my room. It was bleak an empty with only a bed, but Mom had said to wait until tomorrow for decorating and painting. I swung open the door, wondering who had previously lived in this room. All the walls were white, and so was the ceiling fan. And so was the bathroom. White tile, white sink, white shower, white toilet. I am going to suffocate from lack of color.

I turned on the water and peeled off my clothes. I jumped into the shower, welcoming the warmth. It gets chilly here in the fall.

EPOV

I snuck down the hallway and to Max's room. I put my ear to the door and heard running water. Yes! My evil plan shall commence!

I snuck into the room and was suddenly overwhelmed with white. I flinched and squinted my eyes. Wow. What does this houses previous owner have against colors?

I went over to the bathroom door and tested the handle. It creaked open rather loudly. I froze, watching the shower curtain, but Max didn't notice a thing. I snuck over to her pile of clothes, the only blob of color in the also white bathroom. I pulled the skinny jeans out of the pile and replaced it with a shimmery fabric.

Oh yes I did.

MPOV

I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself.

When I was ready to put my clothes on, I walked over to the pile. **(A/N: What? You want me to go through every detail of what she did in the bathroom? Didn't think so.)** I noticed it looked messy, like someone had rifled through. Then I noticed that my jeans were gone. And _then_ I noticed that they had been replaced by a- dare I say the word? – _skirt. _Okay, I'm done noticing things now.

"ELLA!" I screeched so loud that I was pretty sure there was just a small earthquake in Timbuktu.

EPOV

I was lying innocently in my bed, listening to my iPod, when I heard someone screech my name so loud I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow they reported a small earthquake in Timbuktu.

"Yes?" I called back, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"GIVE. ME. BACK. MY. JEANS!" came the angry reply.

"What are you talking about?

"Fine. I'll just go put on a different pair."

Shoot. I hadn't thought of that. After about five minutes, a very angry Max stormed into my room.

"Ella," she said, her voice dangerously sweet, "give them back."

"Whatever are you talking about, Maxie dearest?" I said, equally as sweet.

"You're dead." She spat and jumped up onto my bed.

I did the wise thing and ran for my life, but Max easily caught up to me. Suddenly, I was thrown to the floor and Max was sitting on my back.

"Where are they?" she demanded.

"My ribs are fine, but thank you for your concern."

"Ella, _where are they?_" she growled, getting angrier by the second.

Now I was scared. If max was sitting on your back growling at you, I assure you, you'd probably wet your pants. So, trying to sound unafraid, I said "In my room under the shoe rack in the closet." It came out as more of a squeak.

Max smirked at me and ran into my room.

Pooh.

MPOV

I ran downstairs (wearing my red skinny jeans), where I was greeted by the smell of heaven. Also know Valencia Martinez's (a.k.a. my Mom's) chocolate chip cookies.

"Ooh. Those smell yummy." I said, reaching for one.

"Uh-uh" Mom said, batting my hand away. "They're for the new neighbors."

"Please Mom? You know you're cookies are so irresistible." I said, batting my eyes.

"And flattery won't get you anywhere." She said, putting the cookies onto a tray and covering it with plastic wrap.

"Pooh." I said.

Just then, Ella came bounding down the stairs wearing some ridiculous ruffly **(A/N: did you know that Microsoft Word doesn't think ruffly and shimmery are words? SHUN THE NON BELEIVER! *starts shunning Microsoft Word*)** skirt and a pink tank top. "Ooh, do I smell Mom's cookies?" she said, sniffing the air.

"No." Mom replied.

"Liar." Ella said. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yup." I said.

"All set." Mom said.

I pulled on my black and red airwalks (seeing a trend in colors here?) and opened the door. Mom grabbed the tray of cookies and walked outside, followed by Ella. We walked over to a nice house with a stone walkway leading to a small front porch that had a bench and a rocker on it.

Mom was reaching out to ring the doorbell when the door swung open revealing a woman with dark brown hair pulled into a messy bun.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully. "You must be Valencia?"

"Yes, and these are my two daughters, Max and Ella."

"I'm Lindsay. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, shaking our hands in turn. "Come on in!"

Mom handed her the chocolate chip cookies and thanked her for inviting us over.

"Oh!" she said, sounding surprised "You didn't have to!" but I could see the happy twinkle in her eye.

"It was no problem." Mom replied.

We walked inside. A tall boy with longish shaggy black hair and black eyes was standing in the hall with an older man who looked a lot like him, minus the longish hair.

"This is my son, Nick, and my husband, John." Lindsay said.

Nick's eyes widened when he saw me and he looked shocked, but it passed as soon as it came. He gave a slight nod in my direction.

I wonder what that was about. Nick obviously isn't very talkative.

His dad offered us his hand to shake. I took it, and smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, Mr…" I trailed off, not knowing his last name.

"It's Ramón." He said. "But, please, call me John. And you can call my wife Lindsay."

"Nice to meet you, John." I said.

We were ushered into a very tidy kitchen and sat down at a square table with eight chairs. I stared at the delicious looking food and hoped I wasn't drooling.

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><p><strong>Hai again! Since I usually don't write my chapters all at once, there shall sometimes be an AN in between the parts I've written at different times. So, now I'm on the plane back from Seattle. The cruise is over. I am going to sorely miss the soft serve machine and the hot chocolate machine. Oh well. My state of depression shall not deter this story from being written! So on we go! On Dasher, on Prancer, on Rudolph, on Vixen!**

**Fang: *cough*dramaqueen*cough***

**What did you say?**

**Fang: nothin'**

**Me: *narrows eyes* you better watch yourself. I have the power to make you do whatever you want in this fanfiction.**

**Fang: NO! NOT THE UNICORNS AND RAINBOWS AGAIN!**

**Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!**

**-Starry Eye**

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><p>Lindsay must have noticed the way I was looking at the food because she said, "You can go on and start eating if you'd like. I'll be there in a minute."<p>

I grabbed my plate and began stacking it with food. Ella gave me a disapproving look, so I stuck my tongue out at her. Then Mom gave me a disapproving look.

When Lindsay (It feels weird calling her by her first name…) came and sat down, everyone began eating. And, boy, it was good. I'm so fortunate that my world is full of great cooks to make up for my lack of skills in that area. I once burned the butter while trying to make a pancake. Then it caught fire. It seems every time I try and prepare food, it catches fire. Even salad, and I know that from experience.

Nick barley took any food, and even then he picked at it, only eating half. I saw his Mom shoot him a look. Could that have been worry in her eyes? Maybe this kid _is_ emo…

Mom was talking to Lindsay about their jobs. Mom is a vet. Apparently, John isn't home for dinner often, so tonight he had to take a couple of hours off work to make it. I was in a heated discussion with John about why the Steelers are a lot better than the Packers. **(AN: that is dedicated to my amazing religion teacher, Sister K, because she is a big Steelers fan, and I know nothing of football.) **Nick was talking to Ella. Well, Ella was talking and he was just nodding occasionally.

Suddenly, Lindsay interrupted our conversation. "Max, do you like horses?"

"Um, yeah." I answered, wondering why she suddenly asked.

"You shirt." She explained, as if reading my mind.

"Oh. Yeah, I do like horses. In fact, I have one. She should be arriving soon. My neighbors, well, old neighbors, offered to bring him up in their trailer."

"Nick does too. You know there's a Barn about a five minutes walk from here?" John interjected.

"Yeah." I said, feeling very comfortable with the new topic of discussion around the table. "I was excited to move here because back at my old house the closest barn was a half hour drive."

The rest of dinner was spent discussing horses and the barn, a subject that even Ella was at home with. Even Nick said a few words. After my second tall glass of lemonade, I asked where the bathroom was and excused myself.

The Ramón's bathroom is very nice. They have one of those clear toilet seats with fake fish in it. I washed my hands and was going back to the table when I heard something from in the kitchen.

"Nick, I wanted you to at least make an effort at this dinner. Instead, you're acting more withdrawn than you usually do!" That sounded like Lindsay.

So Nick doesn't always act like that. Doesn't he like us? I thought we were pleasant enough.

"But Mom, that girl-" Nick started, before Lindsay interrupted him.

"Ella?"

"No, Max."

How could I not eavesdrop now? They were talking about me.

"What about Max?" Lindsay said, "I thought she was a nice girl."

"She… she looks just like… like _her_." He said it like it pained him.

"Oh." Lindsay's voice sounded softer now. "I guess she does. I didn't notice that. Just, please keep trying. I know it must be hard for you, but please try."

"I am, Mom. I am."

They exited the kitchen and I quickly returned to my seat, all the while wondering waht that was all about.

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><p><strong>Well, that's it for the second chappie! Well, more like the first chappie because the one before this was more like a prologue. So, please review and tell me what you think! Was it too short? I'm nor really sure about the length, so hopefully 6 ¼ pages were enough. And, it'll get much less cliché-y, because Fang and Max both have a dark secret :) And, when she learns his nickname is Fang at school the next day she'll stop calling him Nick. And, just in case you didn't figure it out, MPOV is Max's point of view, and FPOV would be Fang's point of view and so on. I will try and put a variety of different POVs in this story. So, please review!<strong>

**Disclaimer: I dun own Maximum Ride. *Sniff* **

**-Starry Eye**


	3. Chappie 3

**I only** **posted 2 chappies and I already got people adding it to their favorites! I think I might die of happiness…*drops dead* THANK YOU SOO MUCH! I'd like to thank LaceUpYourShoes, Skyler.125, Annemarie787, hyperloudgirl19, RosesAndSmiles, Diana16686, Phobias Athena, Keggy and Heggy, and I luhv haterz. They were the fisrt nine peeps to add this story to their faves. Also, thanks to I luhv haters for being the first to add me to story alert and favorite author. I'm so happy right now I think I might cry :')**

Chappie 3

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters.)

MPOV

What is that annoying buzzing noise? I'm trying to sleep! People are so inconsiderate these days.

"Shut up!" I yelled, getting annoyed. But, of course it didn't stop. I lifted my head, trying to find the source of the noise, but instead I found my beeping alarm clock.

Oh.

School. Right. I slapped the "Off" button, and it made a loud noise and the glowing time display went out. I turned it back on to find it was at March 17, 2045 and 3:56 am. Maybe I hit it a little too hard…

I groggily dragged myself out of my bed and hit the floor with a thud. Stupid floor, why are you so white. Suddenly, the door flew open.

"Max? Did you sleep on the floor?"

I tried to say no, but it came out more like "Nmphh"

"Max, get up! It's the first day of school! Well, it's actually just our first day of school since everyone already started school. And Mom said we could go shopping after to decorate our rooms. I'm gonna paint my walls. And you definitely should, before you go blind from being in here-"

"Ella, shut up!" I yelled. I dragged myself up from the floor and went into the bathroom. How is Ella already up and ready to go? We still have an hour before we need to leave the house. I brushed and attempted to comb my hair. It didn't work out so well. Stupid hair.

I got out of the bathroom and walked to my closet. Well, I started out walking but then tripped halfway through and crawled the rest of the way. I pulled myself up and opened the door to find the devil standing in the middle of my closet.

"Max, don't you have any nice clothes?" Ella asked, rifling through a cardboard box labeled "Shirts" "And I can't believe you don't have your closet all hung up and unpacked yet! How are you going to be able to find the perfect outfit easily now? The fist thing I did when I got here was unpack my clothes!"

Actually, I was planning on wearing whatever I could yank out without unpacking everything. Ella had already started hanging all my stuff up and organizing it by color.

"What are you doing in here?" I said, trying not to sound tired. I failed epically.

"I am finding you a outfit to wear on your first day of school." She said, hanging up my red skinny jeans. "And you should've gotten more sleep last night."

I was up until eleven last night helping King move into his stall. King is my horse, but that should've been obvious. Who else would I be moving into a stall? My sister? I wish. **(I just wrote qwish instead of wish)**

"Shoo." She said, waving her hand at me. "Go finish getting ready while I see if there's anything presentable in your closet.

Since Ella failed to notice that I was already all ready **(already all ready. Lol) **I rifled through my backpack and made sure I had everything. I walked back over to the closet and banged on the door.

It swung open to reveal a disappointed looking Ella. "Just as I suspected, I found nothing." She said, giving me a disapproving glare. "I might have something that'll fit you. I'll go look in my closet." She started for the door.

"Ella, we're running late. There's no time. Just drop it for now." I said, glancing at my clock. Which was still dead.

"Fine." She said, giving me a death glare. Which is nowhere near as scary as my Ultimate Glare of Doom. Ella is a better Bambi eye person. "You've escaped this time."

I practically shoved her out the door.

I walked into my closet to find everything all hung up and organized. I snorted. Lets see how long that'll last. I grabbed a random pair of jeans and yanked a shirt off a hanger. It turned out to be my black ripped at the knee jeans (this time, they were supposed to ripped) and a light blue t-shirt that had "I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of how epic I am" written across it in bold black lettering.

I ran downstairs, grabbed a couple of granola bars, and headed out the door, where Ella was waiting for me. Wait a second. There's something missing from that sequence. I looked down at my bare feet to- oops. I ran back inside, slid my feet into my gold and black flip-flops, and took off out the door again. Ella rolled her eyes at me.

"Really Max?" she said

"Yup!" I replied cheerfully. "I'm just that awesome."

Ella just shook her head as we started walking. I ate as fast as I could and hoped I wouldn't get a cramp. **(Does everyone get a cramp if they do physical activities right after they eat or is it just me?)**

After about five minutes, Ella pulled out her cell and checked the time. "We're gonna be late. Sh-"

I slapped my hand over Ella's mouth before she could finish. Ella is always the "nicer" girl, meaning she would never get into a fight or get detention (I, on the other hand, would.) but she swears like a trucker when there are no adults around.

"Take note that we're passing the preschool zone." I said, removing my hand from her mouth.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"C'mon." I said, going into a jog.

We ended up sprinting most of the way there. I ran through the front doors, out of breath, and Ella was only a couple seconds behind.

We walked into the office where an old lady with short gray hair and spectacles was sitting at the table. A bespectacled lady! I like that word. It's fun to say. You should try it. Bespectacled. Bespectacled bespectacled bespectacled!

Ahem.

Anyways, the lady looked up from the paper she was looking at and asked us "Do you two ladies need anything?"

"Um, yeah. We're new."

"I'm Mrs. B. What are your names?"

Mrs. B. I wonder if that stands for bespectacled.

"Maximum Ride and Ella Martinez." I said.

She handed us our schedules and told us how to get to our homerooms.

Ella is a freshman and I'm a sophomore, so we don't have any classes together, but we do have lunch together. I have Mrs. Williams for homeroom, and Ella has

We parted ways and I managed to make it to my homeroom without getting lost. I was hoping to just walk in and slide into an empty seat without getting to much attention, but of course that can't happen. The teacher immediately notices me and steers me towards the front of the class.

"Class!" she chirps, and all eyes turn towards her. She's not getting the "Leave me alone" waves radiating off of me. "This is our new student!" She turns to me. "Would you like to introduce yourself?" she says. "I want to say "Hell no" and spit in her fake overly cheerful face, but instead I turn and face the class.

"Hi. I'm Max." I say, trying to sound as bored and monotone as possible. I go slide into an empty desk without waiting to be asked. I know. I'm so badass.

I turn to the side to see a familiar looking dark haired boy sitting next to me. Hey! It's that kid! What's his name… Noah? No, that's not it…Nick, right?

"Hey!" I whisper. "Nick!"

His head turns towards me. Wow, his eyes are really dark. "Fang." He says.

"Huh?"

"Call me Fang."

"Oh." Strange nickname. Wonder how he got it. "Hi Fang!"

"Hi." He says, not meeting my gaze. He turned around to face the front again. Okay. Tall, dark, and silent much?

Maybe I'm too cheerful for his tall-dark-silent-ness.

The rest of homeroom was pretty much uneventful. I'd turn around and whisper "Hi Fang!" every ten seconds and he'd just say "Hi." After the seventeenth time he stopped answering me.

So now I need to find something else to entertain myself.

I started doodling on my folders with a pen. First, I drew stick figure me throwing stick figure Ella off a cliff. But I decided I didn't hate her that much and drew a cotton candy cloud for her to land in. But I was still mad at her for trying to dress me up this morning so I made the cotton candy infested with ants. But, I still love Ella so I armed her with ant repellent spray.

By the time the rabid kangaroos and zombie unicorns came in, homeroom was over.

I looked up and found Fang staring at me. He quickly looked away and grabbed his bag. I caught up to him at the door.

"What class do you have next?" I asked him.

"English." He said.

"Me too. Would you mind showing me the way?"

He didn't answer, so I just followed him. Our English teacher, Mrs. Taft, was nice enough. She didn't introduce me to the whole class either. This gives her big points in the likeability factor. And, her class was easy. All in all, a nice way to start off the morning.

The rest of the morning dragged by painfully slowly. By forth period, I thought I might scream. I've never been one to like school. Especially one with teachers like these. They were all monotone, bland, and boring.

The only exceptions were Mrs. Taft, because I liked her, and Mr. Biddle, the math teacher, because I hate him. I guess monotone and boring is better than cruel and cold. The upside was there was this kid in the class with me who was always making perverted comments and disrupting class, making him really mad. It was hysterical.

When the bell for fourth period finally rang, I bolted out of my seat and was out the door before the bell finished. As I walked down to lunch, I saw Ella in the hallway. She was taking to an African American girl with black hair with a blonde streak in it. She saw mw and ran over.

"Hey Max!" she said cheerfully. "How was your morning?"

"Boring." I grumbled.

"This is Nudge." She said, motioning to the girl next to her. "Nudge, this is my sister, Max."

"Hey." I said.

"Hi! I like your name. Max is a cool name. Is it short for Maxine? It probably is, because what else would it be short for? But, I mean, I shouldn't be talking because Nudge is kind of a weird name but it's just my nickname because my real name is Monique and Max you should totally sit with us at lunch and-"

She was cut off by Ella slapping a hand over her mouth. I just stood there, trying to process all that.

"Well," I said slowly "My real name is Maximum Ride, and I hate it when people call me Maxine because they just assume it's my full name. And sure, I'd love to sit with you at lunch." Did I miss anything?

Ella looked impressed.

Nudge practically dragged us down the hall to the cafeteria. She led us to a round table with some four other kids seated at it. I sped Fang among them.

"Hi everyone!" nudge said. "This is Max and Ella. I invited them to sit with us."

A girl with blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses waved to me, and a boy with spiky blonde hair flashed a smile.

"Ella, max, this is JJ" Nudge said, pointing to the girl who had waved. She smiled, revealing a row of blue braces. "Hiya!" she said. "My real names Jennifer Joy, but seriously, that's a ridiculous name! I mean, what were my parents thinking? So you can just call me JJ." Despite the glasses, braces, and freckles, she didn't look nerdy. In fact, she looked pretty good.

"And this is Gazzy." Nudge continued, pointing to the boy with spiky blonde hair. "Gazzy is just his nickname, and you'll find out soon enough why."

"Just make sure you're wearing a gasmask." A boy with strawberry blonde hair muttered. I recognized him as the kid who made math class more bearable. His pale blue eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance.

"That's Iggy." Nudge said. **(A/N: you know, Iggy is a real name. It originated from Africa, and it means "Only son". I'm such a devoted fan that I looked that up one day.) **The boy grinned.

"And this is Nick, but call him Fang." She said, pointing to him.

"We've met." I said.

"Yeah." Ella said. "He's our new neighbor!"

"Oooh, that's awesome!" nudge exclaimed. "His house is a 5 minute walk from mine, so that means yours is too! We could hang out all the time and do homework together and walk home together and have sleepovers and-"

Nudge was once again silenced by Ella's hand.

"Nudge," JJ said, "We love you and all, but you need to shut the heck up before you scare Max and Ella away."

Ella released her and she muttered "Sorry."

Ella I got in line to get our food and JJ came with us, even though she'd brought her lunch.

She'd said "I'll help you make sure you don't die of food poisoning, then come back to life just to throw it all up."

JJ told us which foods to steer clear of (the soup that looked more like cat barf than soup, the rock hard meatloaf, and anything sporting a "Proudly made in your school" logo.) And which foods were okay (the salad, the pizza, the pasta, and anything that was catered from elsewhere and not made in the school kitchen)

I came and sat down at the table between Fang and JJ. Ella sat between Iggy and Nudge.

"So," Gazzy said, "Where'd you move from?"

"Cali." Ella replied.

"Well, From California to Oregon isn't that long. Well, unless you were from the bottom of California."

"Nah." I said. "It wasn't too far. We lived in northern California."

"Why'd ya move?" he asked.

"Umm…" Ella said, looking uncomfortable.

JJ sensed what was wrong and quickly changed the subject. "What classes do you have, Max? You're a sophomore, right? Everyone here is a sophomore except nudge."

I silently thanked her. "I'm a sophomore. Ella is a freshman." We compared schedules, and it turns out we have the same schedules except we don't have art or math together.

"Hey, Max?" JJ said suddenly. "Can I talk to you for a sec? Like, alone?" she looked at Gazzy, who gave her the tiniest nod.

JJ led me into the hall, checking to make sure it was empty.

"Well," she started, "The reason we all sit together and are friends is because…"

"Go on." I prompted her.

"Well, we're basically all freaks hiding from our past."

**Heh heh heh. Cliffie! :D I enjoy being evil. I probably enjoy it too much for my own good. Anywayz, your reviews are mucho appreciated! They make me so happy, even if they're random. I was on the computer but didn't really feel like typing, but I read a couple of reviews of people telling me they liked it a lot, so I typed more, and once I started it, it was really fun to type. All your reviews keep me going and make me type faster! Also, the warm kitten in my lap this morning helped. Fuzz therapy. : )**

**-Starry Eye**


	4. Chapter 4

Chappie 4

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

MPOV

"What?" I asked, kind of stunned. Well, a lot stunned.

JJ adjusted her glasses. "Well, take me for example." She said.

"I used to live a lot farther away. At my old school, in seventh grade, I was made fun of a lot. **(A/N: I just looked out the window and saw my cat drinking water out of a candleholder…) **I had glasses, braces, and always got straight A's. I'd spend all my time studying, simply because I had nothing else to do. I was awful at sports and had no friends. It got worse in eighth grade. I got really stressed out and kept getting really bad migraines and getting sick. I'd get really upset if I got anything less than an A on my tests. The doctor said I needed to get away from all the stress, so my parents sent me to live with my aunt for a month. While I was there, I didn't go to school. I took therapy and worked on being able to relax and having more self-confidence. When I got back, I was a changed person. I was confident to go back to school, make new friends, and not be bullied. While I was gone, someone started the rumor that the reason I wasn't at school was I tried to kill myself. It was even worse than before. Everyone actually thought it was true. Newspaper reporters wanted to do an article on me for their anti-bullying report. Magazines wanted to make an example of me for why people shouldn't bully. I was sent to guidance counselors and therapists. It was so bad that I couldn't just move schools. I had to move out of the state, almost one thousand miles away."

"Wow." I said, feeling bad for her. "But, why did you tell me all this? You just met me."

"Well, if you go tell someone, it doesn't matter, everyone already knows. If you were going to be friends with us, I wanted you to know the truth. So now, if you don't want to hang out or be friends, then it's fine. I understand." She said, looking down at her feet.

"I don't mind your story, but I'm curious about the others." I said, choosing my words carefully. I didn't want her to think that we could just all be friends now. I want to know about the others before I decide. Mostly, I was thinking about protecting Ella.

"Well, everyone else's story isn't as long as mine, so why not." JJ said, adjusting her glasses again. "Nudge was a klepto. She didn't want to be like that, but she couldn't stop herself. She even jot thrown in juvie for two days once. She did therapy and all that crap and eventually got better, but everyone still avoided her like the plague. She moved here to get a "fresh start"." JJ said, making air quotes with her fingers. She tilted her head.

"I'm not sure If I should be telling you all this. No one else knows, and it could ruin her fresh start if you told."

"I'm not that heartless." I said. "And I swear upon bacon that I won't tell anyone."

JJ looked at me for a second. I could tell she also knew the power of bacon. Unlike Ella, who refuses to respect it. She even had the nerve to throw it in the trash once. She's lucky she's not in jail for that.

"Okay." She said. "I trust you."

"Gazzy just hung out with the wrong people, I guess. When he was in fifth grade, some of his friends convinced him to try some dangerous things. Things were done, and people got seriously injured. He told himself he'd never associate with people like these again. But, in ninth grade, he fell in with them again. They told him they'd changed, and he believed them. But this time, no one got seriously hurt. Someone got killed." JJ paused.

"You're not running away trying to distance yourself as far as possible from us, so I take that as a good sign."

I shrugged. "Things happen. People make mistakes."

"And Iggy… well, he's blind.

Wait, what? Iggy? Blind? "How did it happen?"

"He was walking home one day when he saw a girl cornered by a bunch of thugs. He fought them off and helped her home. Turns out, they were part of a gang, and the gang wanted revenge. They hunted him down and beat him up, one against nine. And they had guns. Bullet wounds heal. Methanol poisoning does not." **(I did my research on this one. Methanol is a poison that can make you go blind.) **

"Oh." I said softly. "Wait, you left out Fang."

JJ shifted uncomfortably. "Ever since 'The Accident', he's just been really distant. Even though he was still 'Mr. No-show-of-emotion', he used to laugh and smile and talk more."

"…That's it? What was 'The Accident?" I asked, wondering why she told me everything to not tell me the one I want to know most.

"Umm… I think Fang will tell you that if he wants to."

Okay then. It must be something really bad.

"If you're going to go now and find some other people to sit with, I understand. But remember, you're not telling anyone what I told you."

"Actually," I say "I think I'll fit right in."

**I know. It's really short**__**and filler-ish. But it had lots of important info in it. So be happy.**

**I was just outside playing with my kitty. There were lots of pears on the ground so I was throwing them for him to chase. Then I accidentally hit him square in the face with one. I tried to go tell him I was sorry, but he ran away from me and now he's under the deck sulking.**

**Since my kitty probably packed up his bags and ran away, if you come across him, please tell him I'm really sorry and it was an accident.**

**And then send him back with a review strapped to his back.**

**I've decided to start doing a question of the chapter. Anyone who reads this chapter **_**WILL**_** answer the question through a review. Or ELSE!**

**(I am very **_**very**_** imaginative in ways to kill people. So you better review.)**

**So now that I'm done being mean to you and demanding reviews, here id the QOTC (question of the chapter)**

**~Do you have any pets? If so, what do you have?~**

**Okay, so that was two questions. DEAL WITH IT. **

**On that happy note, Bye!**

**-Starry Eye**


	5. Chappie 5

**So. School starts tomorrow. I have soccer practice everyday after school. So, this means I will probably only be able to type on the weekends. *Sigh* Also, you guys must have noticed Fang was missing from the last few chapters. I got fed up wuth hum and locked him in the fridge. But here he is again.**

**Fang: Even though Starry is cranky enough to be a middle aged man, she does not own Maximum Ride, Max, and even though she really wishes she does, Max's boyfriend. **

…**L is hotter than you.**

**Fang: Not true!**

**And he's smarter.**

**Fang: Liar!**

**Anyways, since this is turning into a very long A/N, I have one other thing to say. The Maximum Ride awards are on! Go to http:/forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/forum/Maximum_Ride_Awards/97395 and nominate your favorite story!**

**Fang: What she's saying is she wants you to nominate her story**

***Shoves Fang back into fridge***

* * *

><p>Chappie 5<p>

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

JJ cocked her head at me, but she didn't say anything. She led me back to the table.

Ella looked at me with a look that said, _"What happened?" _

"Tell you later." I mouthed.

Gazzy looked at surprised when I sat down and continued eating. "Max said she'd like to sit with us." JJ announced.

For a while, everyone just sat in comfortable silence. It was like they weren't sure what to make of me.

Suddenly, I heard a weird noise followed by an inhuman smell. I immediately slapped my hand over my nose.

"Gazzy!" Iggy complained through his shirt, which he had pulled over his nose. "That's nasty!"

Gazzy just grinned.

"Who fed him beans?" JJ demanded, hiding a smile. Fang also had his hand over his nose and mouth.

"Gazzy, are you trying to murder us?" he said, glaring. Suddenly, all the chatter stopped and everyone turned and stared at him. Despite the smell, JJ's mouth was hanging open.

Fang just continued eating like the whole table wasn't staring at him.

"Did Fang just voluntarily say something?" Iggy said.

"I think he did." JJ said, disbelief clear on her face.

Nudge, who had been trying to sooth her nose by breathing in her scented hand sanitizer, was staring at Fang with widened eyes. "ZOMG! Did Fang just, like, say something without it being an answer to a question? Usually he only talks when he has to, but now he just said what he was thinking! Out loud! To a person! I can't believe this!"

"The apocalypse is nigh!" Gazzy said, sticking his plastic fork in the air and waving it around. I smiled. These people aren't so bad.

The rest of lunch we were filled in on all the teachers, classes, and students.

Apparently, Mr. Smith is the nicest homeroom teacher a freshman can have. Lucky Ella.

Mrs. Williams was described to me as bipolar. She is overly enthusiastic one moment and handing out detention like it's going out of style the next. A lot of kids get sent to the principal's office for dumb things like doodling on their notebook covers. Usually Mrs. B just sends them right back.

The school mean girl and slut is Lissa Martindale. Apparently, she really gets on Fang's nerves by asking him out thirteen times a day. One of her minions is Brigid Dwyer.

After lunch, we all headed off to all our classes.

**FPOV (ooooh, finally!)**

I was sitting in social studies, trying to maybe learn something.

Keyword here being trying. My thoughts kept wandering elsewhere. This time, they landed on dinner last night.

When I saw her, the first thing I thought was _daaaaamn. _Which also happens to be the first thing I thought when I saw Gracie. Of course, she has to look just like Gracie too. It just brings back more painful memories. It's like Max is making it harder for me to live.

My thoughts wandered back to that awful night. I remembered the disbelief echoing through my head. The memory was like a bullet wound to my heart, always there, always bringing pain. I pushed them away, not wanting to think about it. Those were the thoughts that stayed pushed away in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Yello. It rained 9 inches here. On the first day of school, which was yesterday, we evacuated at 1:30 and on the second day of school, which would be today, we have no school. It is a state of emergency here. Which is lucky for you, cuz I get to stay home and type. And we might not have school tomorrow. And tomorrow is Friday, so then comes the weekend. Talk about bad timing.<strong>

**-Starry Eye**

* * *

><p><strong>MPOV <strong>**(Time snap! School is over now.)**

As soon as the bell rang, I rocketed out of homeroom as fast as I could. I flew down the hallway, ignoring Mrs. Williams, who was yelling after me to slow down.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me to a halt.

"Jeez Max. Slow down before you run into someone. Or rather, plow them down and leave them with shoe prints on their face. Speaking of shoe prints, do you ever look at the tracks the bottom of your shoes make? Some of them are just boring stripes but some of them have cool patterns and stuff. Like mine have diamonds and polka dots in an intersecting line with the brand name written on them, which is Tommy Hil-" the voice was suddenly cut off.

I turned around, and guess what I see. If you said Nudge with Ella's hand over her mouth, then DING DING DING! You win a fat lot of nothing! Have fun with that!

"I think my ears are bleeding." I said, glaring at Nudge.

She looked sheepishly at her feet.

"What do you want, Ella?" I asked.

"I was wondering if I could go home with Nudge. Her house is close enough so I can walk back home." Ella said, still covering nudge's mouth.

"Sure, but Mom's making dinner tonight so make sure you're home by six." I said. "And I think you can let Nudge go now." I added.

Ella peeled her hand off Nudge's mouth, which turned out to be a not so good idea. She immediately started babbling about all the fun stuff they could do and how much fun they were going to have and what her house is like.

Ella looked at me helplessly.

I stuck my tongue out and took off again. I didn't stop running until I was home.

"How was your-" mom started to say, but I shot past her, shouting something unintelligible about where Ella was. I burst into my room and flopped onto my bed, panting.

I should do track.

I pulled on a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt, and was out the door again, this time with a helmet in hand and a pocketful of carrots.

My Mom was still standing in the same spot, looking slightly bewildered. I said, "I'm going to the barn!" and raced out the door.

I was at the barn in record time. I swung open the heavy door and walked inside, breathing in the smell of hay and horses.

I was going to get some brushes from the cabinet, when I heard some noise coming from the Indoor. (Short for the indoor riding ring. It's just a big, enclosed space with a roof and a dirt floor.)

Curious as to who was here, I went over and cracked open the door. It was Fang. He was walking a dappled gray mare towards the mounting block. I watched as he mounted and began riding around the ring. He stared off walking, then trotting, then he was running, letting the horse have her head.

It's inhuman to be able to look that sexy while riding a horse.

Wait, what? No! Bad Max! I did not just think that!

I quietly slipped away to go get King. Ella, who is a Harry Potter fanatic **(Just like me!)**, insists on calling him Kingsley Shacklebolt. But she also insists that I wear makeup and fancy clothes. So screw what she insists.

After a very thorough brushing **(Does anyone else here think that horses know when you're going to brush them and go roll in the mud right before?)** I lead him into the Indoor, where Fang was walking his horse. I slipped in through the half open door, trying to be quiet. I was successful, but the half-ton beast behind me was not. He even hit the saddle against the door as he came in.

I think he knows I was trying to be quiet and did that on purpose.

Fang twisted around in his saddle to face me.

"Hi." I said, walking over to the mounting block. He kept staring at me as I got on, making me very self-conscious. Once I mounted, I trotted over and stood my horse next to his.

He tilted his head and looked me over. Again with the self-consciousness.

"Hey" he said quietly.

It was sort of awkward, so I unbuckled my helmet and plopped it on his un-helmeted head. "Try wearing this. It prevents brain injury, you know. I think the last thing we need is a mentally insane Fang." I said.

He cracked a small smile, which made me smile back. Fang should smile more often. It's nice.

Then I burst out laughing. I was practically doubled over on my horse. Fang looked at me quizzically.

"You look so funny," I said, trying to contain my laughter, "In my helmet." It was true. It was one of those black velvet helmets, and it was too small for him. He looked like a prep riding school kid. (Is that possible?)

We decided to go on a trail ride. Fang led, and I followed. We talked as we went, or rather, I talked and he listened.

By the time we returned, it around was 4:30. I hopped off King and led him inside. Fang was close behind. I put king in the crossties and pulled off the saddle and bridle.

As I was brushing him, I heard someone come up behind me. I whirled around, and there was Fang, holding a brush in his hand.

"Jeez fang! Where'd you come from? You scared me to death!" I said, glaring at him. Which didn't have the desired effect since he was a head taller than me.

"Need some help?" He said, holding up the brush.

"You, Sir, are an idiot." I said, and poked him in the chest.

Suddenly, his eyes glazed over, and he got this funny expression on his face. I couldn't tell what it was.

"Umm, I gotta go." He mumbled, and then took off.

Was it something I said? I sighed. I put king back in his stall and started the trek home.

FPOV

I ran home as fast as I could, the passing houses and trees a blur. I tried to push away the thoughts that were flooding into my brain. I reached my house and went straight past the front yard, stopping in front of a large oak tree. One of the branches extended right to a windowsill on the side of the house.

I leaped up onto the first branch, climbing higher and higher. When was the last time I did this? Probably almost a year ago. I still climbed with ease. I reached the branch that led to my window, and dug around in a small hollow in the trunk. Come on, it has to still be there.

My fingers finally closed around a smooth metal shape. I pulled the key out and inched along the branch. I put it into a slot on the outside of the window and turned. The lock was rusty and unused, but I eventually got it.

I slipped inside the window into a narrow room. The walls were covered in pictures. Memories lay scattered all around me. There was no keeping back those thoughts now. The memories rushed into my brain like a floodwall had broken. Screaming, police sirens, crying. The officer's words echoed in my mind over and over again.

_Gone._

It wasn't like a bullet wound aching again, it was like someone tore open the wound and shot it again.

_Gone._

All the emotions building up inside me, it was just too much. I slammed my fist into the wall. Plaster went everywhere, chunks of wall hung out. My knuckles throbbed in pain. I curled up into a ball, cradling my injured hand.

_Gone._

* * *

><p><strong>CLIFFIE! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, the evilness. Sooo… I just got a phone call from my school. There's no school tomorrow either. And tomorrow is Friday. That means we had the first day of school, which ended early, and then we have four days before the second day of school. Send me a prayer for all the people who got flooded really bad, and have a review attached to that<strong>

**QOTC: Do you read manga/watch anime? If so, what do you read/watch?**

**To answer the last chappie's question, I have one mouse and two cats. I would say a fish but today I discovered it was dead. **

**Ha. A mouse and cats. Oh, the irony.**

**Irony, the opposite of wrinkly.**

**-Starry Eye**


	6. Chappie 6

**Sooo… there's a lot of flood damage here. One of my friends has to stay in a hotel overnight because his house got flooded. And I can't reach one of my friends, so I really hope she's okay. I called my friend Connor the other day to see if she was okay, and the conversation started like this.**

**Connor's mom: "Hello?"**

**Me: OMG ARE YOU ALIVE?**

**Connor's mom: Umm, yeah we're alive**

**Me: You didn't have to evacuate and didn't get any water in your house?**

**Connor's mom: No… who is this?**

**Yeah… anyways, the upside of this flood is lots of time to type!**

**Fang: Starry doesn't own maximum ride. Is she a middle-aged man? Even though it's hard to believe, no, she isn't.**

**Who let you out of the fridge?**

**Fang: *smirks***

**Grrrrr…**

* * *

><p>Chappie 6<p>

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

**MPOV**

I officially suck at making friends. I sighed and leaned against the wall.

My mind wandered back to that day at lunch.

"_If you're going to go now and find some other people to sit with, I understand. But remember, you're not telling anyone what I told you."_

"_Actually," I say, "I think I'll fit right in."_

Oh my god. What if she found out? Do they think I'm dangerous?

I shook my head and tried to think of something else. Maybe Fang just realized he was late and had to leave in a hurry.

Yeah right.

I lead King into his stall, contemplating what to do now.

I was deep in thought when something beeped and my leg vibrated, causing me to jump a foot into the air and do a three sixty.

Then I realized it was just my phone.

Whoops.

I pulled it out of my pocket and read the glowing screen

**(My little Microsoft Word assistant just popped up and said "You can hurt yourself if you run with scissors". That isn't exactly what I had in mind when I clicked "show tips")**

It was from Ella.

_Where are you? Mom said we could go shopping for room stuff after school._

I punched in a reply telling her I was at the barn and hit send.

_Send Failed_

Grr. No signal here.

I walked out the front doors, looking back at the row of stalls. A brown head poked out to watch me go.

"Bye." I whispered softly

I slid the door shut behind me and began the walk home.

You see, we didn't really choose to move here.

_Flashback start_

"_Bye Devon. Thanks for letting me stay." The girl said, smiling at him._

"_No problem. Are you sure you won't need a ride?" He asked, concern showing in his voice._

"_I'll be fine. It's not that far." She reassured him, and walked down the steps._

_Actually, it was a bit of a walk, but the girl didn't want to bother him._

_She walked home in silence, her footsteps barley making a sound on the sidewalk._

_Suddenly, she heard another pair of footsteps. She tensed, ready to spring into action against any threat._

_A man appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and stepped in front of her._

"_Ah" He said, a bemused expression oh his face "The great Maximum ride. We finally meet."_

"_Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?" She snapped, extremely wary of the flash of silver in his belt._

"_Aww, Maxie, don't be mad. I just wanted to ask a favor of you." He said, moving closer_

_Max held her ground and stared him down._

"_You see, we think of you as a potential threat. If you're not with us, you could be very dangerous."_

"_We?" she said, trying not to let the fear seep into her voice._

_The man held out his arm and pulled up his sleeve. There, on the inside of his forearm, was a tattoo showing a skull with a coiling snake for a tongue. __**(Does anyone get that? I just couldn't resist…)**_

_The mark of one of the more threatening gangs in town._

"_Shit." She muttered under her breath. "What do you want?"_

"_Join us." He said. "We consider you a powerful girl, Ride. We'd rather have you with us than against us."_

"_No!" She said, now really scared._

_The man frowned. "That's not what I wanted to hear, Maxie."_

"_You don't need me on your side!" she almost yells._

"_Yes we do, Max. Because if you're not with us, you could be against us, and we don't want that."_

"_I won't be with anyone! I don't want to be with you _or_ against you! I don't want to be in a stupid gang!" She yelled._

"_You're lying." He spat. "You're going to join up with our enemy. I guess we'll just have to eliminate you before that happens, Maxie." He grinned evilly, his hand reaching towards his belt. _

_Suddenly, there were more footsteps. He turned around, looking for the source of the noise. Seeing something Max couldn't, he took off into the dark._

"_This isn't over!" He yelled over his shoulder. Then he was gone._

"_Are you okay, Miss?" a voice asked from behind her. She spun around and come face to face with a middle aged man. He was wearing a tie with the initials JP stitched into it. For some reason, Max thought he looked very familiar. She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him. __**(Oh. Yes. I. Did. :D)**_

"_I'm fine." She said hurriedly, and ran the rest of the way home._

_Flashback end_

I shuddered at the memory. Stupid gangs.

I saw my house come into view, and I saw Ella on the front porch.

"Hey Ells" I said, trotting up the steps.

"Hey." She said "You know, we were _going_ to go shopping for house stuff after school but _someone_ took off."

"Ooh, sorry. I forgot about that." I said sheepishly.

"Oh, by the way, did you see Fang after school?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said slowly. "Why?"

"Well, I was just sitting in my room and I heard this loud crash come from next door and it sounded bad so I went over and rang the doorbell but no one answered and none of the lights are on or anything and it's like no ones home and-"

"Shut up!" I yelled.

"Sorry" she said.

"Let's go over and look." We walked up to the front door and I rang the doorbell. No one answered. I pushed on the door and it swung open, so I stepped inside.

"Max!" Ella squealed.

"You said yourself someone could be in danger. It's acceptable in this case. Now come on." I said and pulled her inside. Actually, I have no idea if that was acceptable or not, but I was curious.

The floorboards creaked as I stepped across them, and I paused to listen for sounds of anyone being home.

"Hey, Max, did you see a bedroom while you were upstairs when we came over to dinner?" Ella said, looking around nervously.

"Come to think of it, I think I saw one on the way to the bathroom. Come on." I practically dragged her up the steps and into the long hallway at the top. The second door we passed was hanging wide open to reveal an almost all black room.

Seriously. Black walls, black bed, black rug. I guess we know whose room this is.

I crept in, Ella close behind. A quick examination showed a large indentation in the wall. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a hole.

"Well, this may have been the source of the noise. But it looks like there's another room through this wall." I leaned closer and peered through the hole.

"Hmm. I can see a wall with a window. It's not a very wide room. It looks like it wasn't really supposed to be a room, just a walled off section of the house. I don't see a way to get into it."

Suddenly, I heard a small noise come from the room. Ella froze.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered. I gave a short nod.

"Hello?" I called. Suddenly, the noise stopped. "I think someone's in there." I whispered to Ells. "How did they get in?"

"Didn't you say there was a window?" She asked, keeping her voice low.

"Good thinking. Come on, let's go outside."

We practically flew down the steps and out the door. "Umm, this side." Ella said and ran around to the side of the house.

There was a large tree with branches extending to the second story window. Ella and I looked at each other, and then ran for the tree.

I reached the top first, and shimmied out along the branch that led to the window. When I got to the end, I saw it was still open. I scrambled to the sill and jumped inside. I heard a thunk as Ella landed next to me a couple second later. **(Microsoft word doesn't think thunk is a word either! It is too!) **

The room was small and long, and very plain. There were pictures and frames scattered around the room. They each seemed to hold pictures of the same two people.

Wait, is that me?

The pictures all had a girl in them, and she could be my twin, she looked like me so much.

And then I saw Fang. He was sitting in a corner, cradling his bloody hand.

"_What the hell is going on in here?_" I yelled.

* * *

><p><strong>I really do enjoy these cliffies :D So, it's been kinda a long time since I've updated. Sorry about that, but sadly, I have a life. One that consists of soccer practice every day after school. <strong>

**Fang: Whoa, rewind. You have a **_**life**_**?**

***smacks Fang upside the head***

**Anyway, there will be more flashbacks from Max to show you the rest of her story. I think there'll be about three. And, the next chapter, I was thinking of making it an all flashback chapter. Like, a bunch of important flashbacks with him and Grace. Or, I could just distribute the flashbacks throughout the story. Tell me what **_**you**_** want!**

**QOTC: Do you support Eggy? (Ella x Iggy) **

**To answer last chapters question, I read One Piece, Bleach, Ultimo, and MR manga. I don't really watch anything. Occasionally I'll watch an episode of One Piece.**

**Bye!**

**-Starry eye**

**PS: anyone want to explain to me what a beta is?**


	7. Chappie 7

**I feel like an awful person…. It's been a really long while, hasn't it. Don't worry, I'm definitely not abandoning this story, I could give you excuses, tell you that I had writers block, or that I was really busy, but that would be a lie. I'm sorry. If this ever happens again, feel free to send me a lengthy message threatening me with everything under the sun if I don't get off my lazy butt and type something. Seriously. If you squint and pretend that Grace is Max, you have some Fax in this chapter. This is the flashback chapter, while Fang is sitting in his secret room being all depressed and emo, before Max comes. Enjoy. Or think of how much you hate me while reading this and hope that I fall off a cliff. I deserve it.**

**Starry is too depressed and ashamed to come up with something witty to put here, so she does not own Maximum Ride**

**-Starry Eye**

* * *

><p>Chappie 7<p>

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters)

_The boy and the girl walked out of the restaurant into the near empty parking lot._

"_You know," the girl said, "If I didn't know you I'd think you to be the type of person who'd drive around on that." She pointed to a lonely motorcycle in the corner of the parking lot._

_The boy raised an eyebrow, and it was lost under his dark, shaggy bangs. "Oh, really?"_

"_Yup" she replied, just as the vehicles owner exited the building. The boy looked over at the heavily tattooed man, dressed in black leather from his hat to his spiked boots._

"_See the resemblance?" the girl asked, obviously holding back her laughter._

"_Oh, yeah. Definitely." You could practically hear the sarcasm hitting the ground as it dripped off his words. _

"_You should have a biker name!"_

"…_No. Just no"_

"_Yes. Like, blackbeard."_

"_I don't have a beard. And that's a pirate name."_

"_Fine." She huffed "You can be… Snakehead or something."_

_The boy looked at his partner, who was deep in thought. "Grace?"_

"_Yeah?" she said, looking up._

"_You're failing."_

_She pouted. "Oh, come on. I'm not that bad."_

"_You want the truth?" he asked._

_She smacked his arm. _

"_Jeez" he muttered, rubbing the spot where there was sure to be a bruise the next day._

_Suddenly, Grace's eyes lit up. "I got it!"_

"_What?" the boy asked warily, dreading the answer._

"_You can be Fang!" _

"_That… makes me sound like a dog."_

"_Sucks"_

"_Oh, come on. Please don't call me that." He pleaded._

_She turned around, her face only inches from his. "It's not _that_ bad. You could be Snakehead."_

_Before the boy could answer, she was kissing him. Well, you can't argue with that._

_Fang sat alone at his lunch table, his sandwich only half eaten. He had given up trying to eat it and was staring off into space. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw to girls approach his table. _

"_Hey" said the first girl, twirling a lock of her brunette hair between her fingers. When Fang didn't answer, she continued. "So, Nancy and I were invited to this party, and I don't want to go alone…" She trailed off, trying to look innocent, as if she totally was not suggesting she wanted to go with him._

_Fang reluctantly pulled himself back to earth to look at the two girls who were interrupting his daydreaming session._

"_I think you two would look great together." The other girl, a blonde, said, and Fang seemed to notice her for the first time._

"_Sorry. I have a girlfriend." He said, and prayed they'd leave it at that and go away._

_But, of course they didn't. _

"_Grace?" the brunette whined. "Oh, come on. Are you even together? She's not even sitting with you!"_

Well sorry she had to pee _thought Fang, but he didn't say anything. Maybe the floor would open up and swallow them._

"_Yeah!" Blondie said. "Do you even, like, _like_ her?" Fang hated when people put unnecessary "likes" into their sentences. So did Grace._

_Fang looked at the girl. He said "You're right. I don't like her. Not even close. But I don't like you any better, so would you go away already?" he said, having had the crap annoyed out of him. _

_The girl looked taken aback, then huffed off to go scream about how stupid Fang was to her group. Blondie followed._

And good riddance_. Fang resumed staring into space, having no other productive way to spend his time. _

_Suddenly, Grace appeared from around the corner. _

"_Sorry I left you to deal with those two, but I saw them and decided to stay behind the corner until they left. I don't need another week of detention for hospitalizing someone." She said as she plopped down next to him._

"_So you heard all the pain I had to go through?" _

"_Yup."_

"_Good. 'Cuz I definitely don't like you. Not even close."_

_Grace turned to look at him. "And why is that?"_

"'_Cuz I love you."_

_She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him._

_Now Fang definitely has something better to do with his time._

**I know that was really short, but imma post it in two parts because you guys have been waiting long enough and I don't have anymore ideas right now, so it would take even longer to get this up. Also, I really appreciate your reviews, but I want _feedback. _You guys review and tell me you like my story, but you never answer my questions. Last chapter I asked you guys what you'd think of a flashback chapter, and I got seven reviews but not a single one of them answered the questions. It's just an extra couple of words! Also, not a lot of people answer the QOTC, and it feels kind of useless. It doesn't know if it wants to keep appearing in these chapters if it is going to be ignored. Should it stay? Are you guys gonna bother to answer that? Please do! It's a simple yes or no question!**

**-Starry Eye**


	8. Chappie 8

**Hi. Do you remember me? You shouldn't, because I'm an awful person. I think it's been almost a year. Wow. Well, I really like this, so I'm gong to continue it. I don't really know what happened. If I had tried harder, I could've kept doing this, even during school :/ I don't have anything funny or intelligent to put here, because I'm too sad. I didn't even bring Fang. Anyways, enjoy the story while you think of how much you'd like to hurt me with something hurtful.**

**-StarryEye**

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><p><em>Chappie 8<em>

_(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters.)_

_Grace opened her lunchbox and pulled out a sandwich, a banana, and a daisy. No one seemed surprised when she put the bright flower on the table next to her lunch. Gazzy rolled his eyes. A girl with long red hair and green eyed leaned over into their little group._

"_What's it say?" She asked._

_Grace tugged the tag off the stem of the flower, being careful not to pull of any leaves._

"_Roses are too cliché." She read aloud "And then a smiley face."_

_Fang knew that grace liked flowers. For her, they represented the more beautiful side of life, though he liked to argue she was the most beautiful. He also knew he wouldn't sit with her at lunch because he had detention, so he took it as another way to give one._

_He rarely missed an opportunity to give her some. In her locker (He knew her combination), in her lunch pail, in her jacket she was always forgetting places._

"_Please excuse me while I go barf." Gazzy said, pushing himself up from the table and tossing the remainder of his luch. "Later losers!" he called over his shoulder he raced out of the room._

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><p><em><strong>Aaaaaaaaand… that's it for the flashbacks! I know it's short, but I've got lots planned and I'm going to start (and possibly finish!) the next chapter today. Just a recap, Max finds Fang's secret room and walks in and he's in the corner with an injured hand looking all depressed an emo and she screams at him, demanding an explanation. Typing this made me feel a little better.<strong>_

_**I'm putting QOTC back. I don't are if no one answers anymore. It's fun.**_

_**QOTC: What other websites are you on?**_

_**-StarryEye**_


	9. Chappie 9

**Hiya! It's summer now, so expect a lot from me! I have NOTHING to do until soccer preseason starts, so, yeah :B**

**I just got back from camp and HOLY SCOTTISH BOYSCOUTS. Yeah. They stayed at our campground for one night as part of their tour through America. And they were adorable! AND OH MY GOD THE ACCENTS! So adorable but so off limits at religious camp. We were standing outside the bathrooms "making friends" and then the male adult chaperones came and ushered us along. Then they were standing outside, watching to make sure we didn't talk to them 0_o**

**Remember the flashback Max had, about gangs and stuff? There'll be a continuation of that in this chapter. **

**I have a lot of bug bites from standing in the dark with no bug spray talking to Scottish boy scouts.**

**-StarryEye**

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><p>Chappie 9<p>

(Because. Chappies are cooler than chapters.)

"Well, there goes shopping for room decorating supplies today." Ella mumbled. I elbowed her in the ribs.

I looked at Fang, waiting for an explanation. When I didn't get one, I sighed and walked over to him. I picked up his had, and he flinched. It was torn and bleeding, and I could see bone sticking out at awkward angles. Ew.

"Ella, call an ambulance. Then call mom." I said, but she was already on the phone.

"Yeah, It's his hand. It looks pretty messed up. Okay. Thanks. Bye." She turned to us. "They're on their way. Lets get down to the front lawn."

I looked at Fang's hand. Then at the tree. Then at Ella.

"… Let's do this"

A long fifteen minutes later, we are on the front lawn, and Fang is sitting down, still not speaking. It took another very awkward five minutes for the ambulance to arrive. When it did, my mom of course came outside and began going ballistic. There was a lot of commotion as Ella and I reassured her and explained what had happened, the hospital people loaded Fang into the ambulance, and we climbed into the car to go to the hospital. Fang's parents were contacted and were going to meet us there. Ella texted Nudge, who in turn texted JJ, Gazzy, and Iggy.

After a lot more commotion, we were sitting in a white hospital waiting room with Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, JJ, and Gazzy's little sister, Angel.

I am sick of white rooms. We really need to go shopping.

I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair, glancing around.

Angel was asleep in Iggy's lap, and Ella was next to him, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. Gazzy was on the other side of Iggy, staring off into space. I was between JJ and my mom. Nudge was sitting in a single chair next to Ella.

Fang's parents were on their way.

I looked at the other people. There was a morbidly obese lady in a wheelchair, drooling on herself in the corner, an angry looking man in a tweed suit whisper screaming at someone over the phone, and a skinny lady dressed all in pink with very ugly makeup coating her chalk white face. Ella was probably thinking how the lady should change her wardrobe and makeup palette.

After two minutes, the tweed suit man snapped his phone shut, got up, and stormed out of the room. He was shushed by several nurses on the way out.

Three minutes later, Fang's parents came. They talked to Mom then sat down with worried looks on their faces.

Four minutes later, someone came in and wheeled the obese lady away.

Finally, after another three minutes, a doctor walked in. Fang's mom jumped up and hurriedly walked to him. They discussed something, then the doctor left. Mom got up and walked over to Fang's mom.

"He'll be fine. They'll put the bones back in place, stitch up his hand, and put a cast on it. Thank you so much for coming."

She then walked over to me. "Thank you so much for all your help." She said, wrapping me in a hug. She then did the same to Ella.

"You all can go now, if you'd like." Fang's dad said, addressing everyone.

"I wanna stay." Gazzy said. Iggy nodded in agreement.

"Me too." JJ and Nudge said simultaneously.

"We can't leave until we see that he's okay." Mom said, speaking my thoughts.

"Well, it might be a long wait." Fang's dad said.

Gazzy soon fell asleep on Iggy's shoulder. Iggy and Ella began talking together, and my mom was discussing hospitals and doctors with Fang's parents.

I put my head back, and before long, found myself drifting off to sleep.

_Flashback/Dream start_

_Ella nodded as she listened to my story. I was, of course, terrified._

_It was the night after I encountered the gang thug after coming back from Devon's house. I had run home and ran up to Ella's room and told her the story. _

"_It's okay. He can't do anything to you. They're just a bunch of thugs. Don't tell Mom, you'll just worry her." She reassured me._

_I slept in her room that night._

_The next week went by as usual. School, chores, sports. _

_Then on Friday, my soccer was cancelled, and Ella has to walk home from tennis alone. I remember how my Mom had picked up the phone and turned pale. She rushed me into the car, tears running down her face. I was scared and confused._

_We arrived at the hospital. "Mom, what are we doing here?"_

"_Shh, it's okay. It'll be alright." _

_We hurried inside, and a lady ushered us into a room. Ella was lying on a bed. Her face was swollen and cut, and her arm was wrapped up. _

_Ella had been cornered and beaten up by a group of gang members. They all had the same tattoo: a skull with a curling snake for a tongue. A young man had come and fought them off. He called 911 and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. He then fled the scene._

_I was sobbing. "Ella, it's all my fault. It's all my fault." I leaned over her, my tears falling on her face. Her eyes cracked open. "No." She whispered. "I was wrong. They're powerful. Don't keep it a secret…"_

_End Dream/Flashback_

I woke with a start and nearly fell out of my chair. "Woah, Max." My mom was holding my shoulder. "Calm down."

"Sorry." I mumbled. "How long?"

"We've been here a couple of hours." She said. "We got cafeteria food if you're hungry."

I looked around. Gazzy and Angel were eating, Nudge was playing on her phone, and Ella was asleep, her head on Iggy's shoulder, while Iggy stared off into space.

I'd so have to tease her about that later.

Suddenly, the doctor walked in again. "You may come see the patient now." Everyone sprang up, and Gazzy hoisted Angel onto his back. We followed him into a white room.

Fang was sitting up on a white bed, and I had an unnerving feeling of déjà vu.

His hand was in a bright green cast, but otherwise, he looked okay. Everyone immediately crowded around him.

"OMG are you okay? Does it hurt? Oh my gosh it must have been AWFUL! What even happened? How'd Max and Ella find you? Are you going to school tomorrow? Wh-"

JJ cut her off. "Shh! Give him some space!" While Fang's parents talked to the doctor about medical stuff, I motioned to Ella to come out into the hall. We stepped outside and I shut the door.

"What is it?" She asked, sounding concerned.

I told her everything JJ had told me during lunch.

She nodded as she took it all in.

"They seem like really nice people though, so I think it's alright." I said.

"Yeah, I like them too." She said. Suddenly, she gasped in shock.

"Max! Iggy told me he moved from northern California!"

"So…?" I said, confused.

"_He's the one who saved me!_"

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><p><strong>Well, there ya go. We're back on track now :D I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to be evil like that :D<strong>

**Oh yeah. I let Fang go. It's my self- punishment.**

**Fang: *pokes head in* Actually, I escaped. *runs off***

… **Jerk**

**Anyways, since it's the same day, I'll just repeat last chapters question.**

**QOTC: What other sites are you on?**

**-StarryEye**


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